LAHORE: The trio of Matloob Ahmad, M Munir and Talib Hussain jointly claimed the first position on the opening day of the 39th Punjab Open Golf Championships which teed off at the PAF Skyview Golf Course here on Friday.
At the end of the day, prolific golfers Matloob (Lahore Garrison), who enjoys the number two ranking in the golf circuit of Pakistan, M.Munir (Rawalpindi Golf Club), holder of many titles, and Talib Hussain, an upcoming one from Islamabad, are in front after posting a card each of four-under-par-68.
Matloob ended up with a round of gross 68, four under par and this remarkable score of gross 68 was also achieved by Munir and Talib. As a result of this attainment they have the honor of occupying the top position on the leaderboard. Matloob scored birdies on holes 7,8,11,14 and 17 and a bogie on the 10th hole. Regulation pars were adroitly managed on the other thirteen holes.
As for Munir another capable one of our golfing ranks, he was equally apt and his excellence in terms of birdies came about on holes 5,8,14,15 and 17 and like his adversary Matloob, he confronted a sole bogie one hole.
In his case too the regulation pars totaled thirteen. Third leaderboard mate of Matloob and Munir is Talib and he also played incredibly well and owed his position on top of the leaderboard to a spectacular eagle on the first hole and four birdies on holes 4,8,13 and 16. Unlike the other two he was bitten by two bogies on holes 10 and 12.
Some others who have come up with noteworthy scores are seven participanting competitors who ended the first 18 holes by managing a score of gross 71,one under par. Names of these talented ones are Talat Ijaz (Gymkhana), Muhammed Shahzad (Garrison), Khalid Khan (Peshawar), Roman Khan (Peshawar), M. Tariq (Islamabad), M.Khalid (DHA Karachi) and Muhammed Asif (Defence Raya). Six players are placed at a score of gross 72 and they are Latif Rafiq, Ejaz Khan, Asad Khan, M.Nazir, Usman Ali and Kashif Masih.
The prizemoney of the championship is Rs 2.1 million, partly backed by JS Bank while another attraction is a car for hole in one.
Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2020
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